Khaled attends Bahrain F1 GP, Verstappen wins season opener
Verstappen started the Bahrain Grand Prix on pole position and was never seriously challenged on his way to a commanding one-two win for Red Bull with teammate Perez
His Highness Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, has atended the final day of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2024, taking place from Feb.29 to March 2.
The event marks the 20th year of Formula One races taking place in Bahrain this year under the theme ‘20 Years of Making History’.
The race was also atended by Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain; Shaikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Personal Representative of the King and President of the Supreme Council for Environment; Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs; Shaikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS), Chairman of the General Sports Authority (GSA), and President of the Bahrain Olympic Commitee, as well as a number of the ruling family members, senior officials and distinguished guests.
Sheikh Khaled commended the organisers of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, praising the Kingdom’s remarkable achievements in hosting major international sporting events and highlighting Bahrain’s profile on the global sports tourism map.
The Bahrain International Circuit boasts five distinctive tracks. Its primary track is the longest in Formula One, spanning 5.412 kilometres. During Formula One weekend, the circuit atracts around 100,000 spectators, with the main grandstand capable of accommodating more than 10,000 people. The Bahrain International Circuit hosted the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix in the Middle East in 2004, and also hosts over 400 events annually, serving as a hub for promoting motorsports in the Kingdom and the region.
His Highness was accompanied by Sheikh Mohamed Bin Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Zayed Bin Nahyan Bin Saif Al Nahyan; Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Mohammed Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan; Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development; Saif Saeed Ghobash, Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council; Fahad Mohammed Salem bin Kardous Al Ameri, UAE Ambassador to Bahrain; and a number of senior officials
Meanwhile, the ongoing drama around Red Bull had no effect on its three-time reigning world champion as Max Verstappen routed the field by 22 seconds in the season-opening Formula 1 race on Saturday.
Verstappen started the Bahrain Grand Prix on pole position and was never seriously challenged on his way to a commanding one-two win for Red Bull with teammate Sergio Perez. Embatled team principal Christian Horner was joined before the race and during the podium celebration by his former pop star wife, Geri Halliwell.
“Today went even beter than expected,” Verstappen said. “It was a lot of fun.”
Carlos Sainz Jr. was third for Ferrari ater fighting hard with teammate Charles Leclerc.
At the start of the longest ever F1 season at 24 races, Verstappen already shows signs of repeating his near-perfect record from 2023, when the Dutch driver won 19 of 22 races.
Bahrain was the eighth win in a row for Verstappen going back to last September. He set an F1 record of 10 consecutive wins last season.
The F1 paddock’s focus has firmly been on Horner, with Verstappen saying on Saturday his boss was “probably a litle bit distracted.”
“Obviously, it’s not been pleasant, some of the unwanted atention, but the focus is now very much on the cars,” Horner said. “My focus has very much been on what’s going on on track and the result today, I think, demonstrates where the whole team’s focus is and we move onwards.”
Horner arrived on race day hand in hand with Halliwell, also known as Ginger Spice of the pop group the Spice Girls, and they celebrated together as Verstappen received his trophy. The race came ater FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the turmoil around Horner was “damaging the sport,” in comments to the Financial Times.
On Wednesday, the team’s parent company dismissed a complaint of alleged misconduct by Horner toward a team employee. A day later during practice in Bahrain, a file alleged to contain evidence against Horner was emailed to nearly 200 people in the F1 paddock, including Liberty Media, F1, the FIA, the other nine team principals, and multiple media outlets.